LSU women's basketball team expects tough test against Penn State in the NCAA Tournament

Sweet 16 berths were once a right of passage for the LSU Lady Tigers, who made it at least that far nine times from 1997 to 2008. The Lady Tigers haven't returned since, and no LSU players who will take the floor tonight against Penn State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament have made it past this point.

"We are not really concentrating on getting to the Sweet 16 or the Elite Eight," LSU senior forward Courtney Jones said. "Of course we know in the past we have not been able to get past this little dead patch right here."

Wade Payne / The Associated PressLSU Lady Tigers basketball player Courtney Jones is taking the NCAA Tournament one game at a time.

Penn State ousted No. 13 seed Texas-El Paso 85-77 in the first round Sunday, with a starting backcourt that combined for 44 points.

Penn State averages 75.8 points. All-Big Ten guards Alex Bentley and Maggie Lucas average 19.3 points and 14.4 points, and four starters average in double digits.

LSU senior forward LaSondra Barrett, whose 17 points and 10 rebounds carried the Lady Tigers past 12th-seeded San Diego State 64-56 on Sunday night, said slowing the game's pace will be a top priority.

"We want to dictate our tempo and just keeping them in the 50s or 60s if we can," said Barrett, an All-SEC selection. "They are a high-scoring team, and the guards can hurt you. That's not how we play."

First-year LSU coach Nikki Caldwell said the guard-oriented Lady Lions present as many problems for her team's short-handed and turnover-prone backcourt offensively as they do defensively.

"We did a much better job of taking care of the basketball, which didn't lead to too many turnovers in our game (Sunday)," Caldwell said. "I do see transition defense being key for us."

LSU, which has played the past two months without injured point guard Destini Hughes, averages 17.3 turnovers, a potential pitfall against Penn State. The Lady Lions scored 22 points off 17 UTEP turnovers.

The Lady Tigers only gave the ball away 11 times against the Lady Aztecs.

Caldwell said LSU will have to counter Penn State's prolific perimeter by exploiting a rebounding and height edge.

"If you control the boards, you control the tempo of the game," Caldwell said. "I thought (against San Diego State) we had to work more in our transition defense than we did in our half-court setting. It will be tough to beat (Penn State) if we're not getting rebounds."

LSU averages six rebounds more than its opponents, and UTEP had a 45-36 advantage over the Lady Lions.

Penn State will have to deal with more than LSU's edge on the boards, facing the Lady Tigers at their home arena.

"If we're going to be spooked about going on the road, we might as well send a note to the NCAA in November saying we don't want to play," Penn State Coach Coquese Washington said. "Our kids responded to the challenge all year. Wherever we go, we'd rather play in front of a bunch of people than in front of empty seats."

FAST BREAK: The winner of tonight's game will face the winner of No. 1 seed Connecticut and No. 8 seed Kansas State on Sunday in Kingston, R.I. ... Barrett made 12 free throws against San Diego State, leaving her six shy of Sylvia Fowles' LSU career record of 494 ... Barrett's 10 rebounds made her the 10th Lady Tiger with 800 career rebounds. ... LSU won the only meeting in Baton Rouge between the schools, 80-63 on Jan. 4, 2003.